Last night I installed the fiber spacer between the carb & intake (verified clearnance between hood & carb before & after).
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Next I rerouted my fuel line away from the headers and installed the DEI insulation. As noted previously, originally I had it mounted directly on the driver's side head so it was only ~3" from the headers. Now the hard line is mounted to the frame and there is a flex line that runs from the carb to the frame (can't see it with the insulation installed).
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Next I installed the insulation on the entire fuel line that runs along the rocker area and up into the engine bay as well as a 2 foot section of brake line that is about 3" away from the muffler on the driver's side.
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Fired it back up to make sure there were no leaks as a result of the new plumbing (all good) and let it come up to temp. I was amazed at the temp difference on the fuel lines with just the insulation added. Prior to doing this you could not keep your hand on the fuel line by the carb for a long period of time due to the heat, now I can grab the line and leave it there. Not a real test mind you, but encouraging.

I didn't let it idle for an extended period of time with the hood closed or take it for a long run yet to avoid jinxing myself. I want to make sure I have the heat shield installed on the heaters first which completed my overall plan before doing so. The heat shield should arrive tomorrow (Friday) and I'll install it Saturday and give it a try. I also ordered some DEI insulation for wiring in which I want to install that on the wires running along the intake manifold as an added piece of mind.

First test I want to do when everything is installed is bring it out in the driveway and just let it idle for an extended period. I figure hood closed & just idling while not moving is a worst case situation and if it doesn't vapor lock after an hour or so I think we are good. Next as a comparison, I'll take the same driving route I took when the issue surfaced. Looks like the temps this weekend will be within a degree or two (upper 80's / low 90's) of where they were when I had the issue so it should be a comparable test.

Finger's crossed

Jim